


Frail

by Aki_Saiko (saikowrites)



Series: Writober 2019 [8]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Drugs, Frail, Hurt/Hurt theres no comfort here, I mean sexual content is present but the explicit parts are implied or this wouldnt be rated M, Implied Sexual Content, Inktober 2019, M/M, Making Out, Someone teach these dorks how to be subtle PLEASE, Spoilers, Spoilers until 20th november, Unreliable Narrator, Writober 2019, shuake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-28 00:43:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20957636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saikowrites/pseuds/Aki_Saiko
Summary: “A new routine has settled down between them: Akechi drinks coffee and talks, Akira joins the conversation with some concise sentence and non-verbal language. It’s light, it’s cosy, it makes his mind stay focused instead of spacing off as usual.”WRITOBER 2019 | Day 8: Frail | Based on the official Inktober 2019 prompt list.





	Frail

**Author's Note:**

> Me, 8pm, after an entire day at university, at a dear friend of mine: yeaahhh I like the conept a lot and I'll be experimenting a bit but I'm tired so this one won't be long  
Also me, 2.20am: 2600 words of angst and mixed feelings and ShuAke that's hurting me. Well. Okay, I guess?
> 
> @ Hansei, this one is for you. The day of F/F will come: it's just not today (but it will be tomorrow :^ )

A lazy afternoon near before summer ends. A boy in adult’s clothes smiles from the other side of the counter, brown hair arranged to look casual but not messy – the opposite of his. Reddish eyes are looking at him, cheerful at a superficial glance, but scanning through him instead. He chats, Akira listens. Topics are casual, such as coffee, school, or their fortuitous meetings at Shibuya train station.

Akira knows they’re not. They have a pattern, not too often nor too rare, at the same time they don’t happen on the same day. He almost believed that those were just pure coincidences; Akechi almost fooled Akira’s hunch that was telling him something was off. But he realised. The timing was too perfect, calculated with surgical precision as to build some closer contact without being pushy. Akechi had had Akira’s attention since their first meeting. He now had his interest.

Visits to Leblanc aren’t left to chance, either. But Akechi uses the excuse of Leblanc being his go-to café, so it’s acceptable to stop by once a week. A new routine has settled down between them: Akechi drinks coffee and talks, Akira joins the conversation with some concise sentence and non-verbal language. It’s light, it’s cosy, it makes his mind stay focused instead of spacing off as usual.

_Akira can’t focus. His body is heavy and don’t respond to his will. He should panic but he can’t even remember what he’s doing. His eyelids tremble before his pupils and they’re weird._

A pacific afternoon with closing time approaching. Sojiro unties his apron and pat a hand on Akira’s shoulder. “I’m leaving it to you. Make sure you close up.”

Akechi lifts his head from the paperwork he’s doing. “Ah, my apologies. I should head out as well, it’s getting late.”

“Don’t worry” Sojiro replies “the kid can handle. Coffee tastes best when savoured.”

“Thank you for your kindness Mr. Sakura.”

Sojiro waves a hand and exits. Akira keeps cleaning the inner surface of the counter, says nothing. He waits.

Akechi coughs, his head back in the sheets. “Are you sure I’m not bothering you? I haven’t much coffee left to drink – as far as I regret it.”

Akira stops rubbing a persistent stain and looks up. Akechi’s fringe masks his expression. “I’m sure. You can stay.”

Akechi’s smile is wider than usual. He chuckles. “You are too kind.”

_Noises tickles at Akira’s hears. Noises of some kind. They are muffled, distant. Is he dreaming?_

A stormy evening less then a week before the exams. The pouring rain is good for his soul but doesn’t ease the study session. It doesn’t erase the horrified look on Haru’s face upon seeing her father dying on national television, either. He glances at the English textbook, keeps reading the same question again and again and again. He grabs the pencil, puts it back on the notebook, holds it again. White paper stares back at him and Akira unlocks the phone to ask Ann about the exercise.

A heavy knocking on Leblanc’s door prevents him from sending the message. Akira stills, heart pounding. The raps don’t stop.

Sojiro would have used the keys. Everyone of his friends would have sent him a message before dropping by. Morgana is curled up on his bed, asleep, and wouldn’t even be capable of knocking. Akira puts down the phone and slowly rises from his seat, controlling every movement as Joker would do.

“Kurusu? Are you in there?”

Akira tiptoes to the door and opens it. He casts a puzzled look at a soaked Akechi.

“I truly apologise for showing up like this and this late. The rain caught me off guard – I was so deep into work that I forgot my umbrella at the police station.”

The coat on the boy’s shoulders is wet and his air is sticking to his cheeks and forehead. Fatigue clouds his pupils and weigh down his body. His smile lacks drive, resembles the tv one but it’s more tired. His manners are polite enough but not quite charming. Some serious signs of exhaustion for a normal workday.

Akira steps aside and gestures him to enter. “Do you need a towel?”

“Just a place to rest for a bit will be fine. It has been a long day.” The boy sits on his usual stool and rests his chin on the palm of his hands. Akira closes both textbook and notebook and takes place beside him.

“You were even studying. I’m deeply sorry for interrupting you. I’ll leave within minutes.”

“I thought I told you that you could stay, if you wanted.”

Akechi startles and turns his head to him. “I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness this much.”

“You aren’t. Besides, studying is proving… hard, these days.”

“Is something bothering you?”

Akira bites his lip, unsure of how much he can say. “Life in general.”

“You, too? It seems we have something in common.”

Akira wishes he could ask more, but he knows he shouldn’t. Akechi only lets slip the things he’s comfortable sharing and that can do no harm to him. Personal matters have always stayed outside of their conversations, and Akira respected that. To a certain extent. There are days when they play chess on a board made of coffee, glimpses and pleasant small talks, until one persuades the other to reveal something about his life. Akira is usually good at gathering information without saying too much – except when there’s something about Akechi that captures his interest so much he’s willing to play bold and exposes himself more.

He is too tired for games now, and Akechi looks worn out, too. It wouldn’t be fair.

“Do you need an umbrella?”

“Pardon?”

“You said you forgot yours. I think Sojiro has some spare ones in the attic. I can lend it to you.”

Akechi’s eyes widen with surprise. They are of a warmer red in the dim light of Leblanc, more intense. “If it causes no trouble to you, then yes, it would be of great help.” He pauses. He looks away. “Maybe a towel, too.”

Akira smiles and heads upstairs. He glimpses at his bed: Morgana is still sleeping. Good. He controls every movement and noise and grabs an umbrella from the pile of café belongings still stored in the room, a towel, and goes back.

Akechi is standing near the counter. Akira handles him the towel. The boy rubs it against its hair and neck and tries to absorb some of the wet on his jacket as well. He exposes his neck and jawline and a bit of his ears that are usually covered by long hair. Those are gestures so small, so private, Akira’s heart clenches in his chest. He forces himself to breathe and looks away before the other finds him staring.

Akechi returns him the towel. “Thank you very much. I don’t think I will say it enough this evening.”

Akira shrugs. “It’s fine.” He decides that he can open, or his mind won’t give him a moment’s rest. “You are always welcome here.”

He lends him the umbrella. Akechi grabs it but doesn’t take it, hand firm on it, his fingers touching Akira’s ones. The grip tightens and Akechi stares him right in the eyes. “I will make sure to bring this back to you, then. Thank you for… all of this. I needed it. Work can be frustrating sometimes.”

Akira smiles back, doesn’t retreat. “Anytime.”

_Akira wonders what time it is. And asks himself why he should care about time. That’s logical, because time is important. But important to what? To whom? He still can’t remember. His head is heavy, and his fingers start to itch, as if moved after a long time forced in the same, uncomfortable position._

A silent, moonless night. Akira drops on his bed searching for some relaxation. Sae’s palace proved much more of a hassle than he had anticipated. Enemies were tough and everything was rigged against them; Akira isn’t used to that. Akechi’s help had been useful but it couldn’t cover every single situation in that hell of a casino.

The whole of his body aches, exhaustion creeps into his bones. He searches for the comfort of Morgana’s soft fur but can’t find him.

“Morgana is still with Futaba” a gentle voice says to him “he will be back soon, so you don’t have to worry for the night.”

Akira’s gaze focuses on Akechi approaching his bed and sitting on the edge. Right. He is so tired he can’t even piece together what happened during the day.

“You didn’t have to accompany me this far, you know. It’s late for you, too.”

Akechi chuckles. “Trains are still running, so it’s not too late yet. Besides, you have quite pushed the line in the Metaverse today. I was worried you couldn’t make it home.”

Akira closes his eyes and hums in response. “Thank you.” He should stand up and wish goodnight to the other boy. He shouldn’t let him stay more than it’s necessary. But his mind is hazy and really, he only wants to sleep. Where is Morgana pressuring him to go to bed?

Akechi draws nearer and sits by his side. Akira opens one eye. Akechi pulls some brown hair aside from his eyes and looks at him, leans down only a bit. “I’m glad I joined your party, even though it will be only temporary. I feel positive I will learn more about the Metaverse and experience interesting things.”

Akira glances back. He should sit up; he should dismiss him. His heart pounds in his chest, blood pumps in his hears. Is he forgetting about something? Where is Morgana?

Akechi’s hand goes to his glasses. It grabs them by the thick black frames and removes them from his nose. “You probably shouldn’t sleep with these on, you know. And, with your school uniform, but I’m not going to remove that one, too.”

Akira can’t hold back a smirk. He is slipping into slumber, Akechi’s hand is a light touch on his cheek. The creak of hard wood makes him fight against heavy eyelids again. Akechi’s face is much closer than before, eyes staring right into his. Akira’s gaze shifts from his eyes to his mouth to his cheeks and back to the eyes. He tilts up the head a bit without realising it.

Their lips touch and Akira gasps in surprise, a spark shoots through the whole of his body. Some part of him is screaming at him for being this stupid, this reckless. Some other is just too tired and eager and excited to give a damn.

He kisses back and entangles his fingers in the other’s silky locks. Every time they part, Akira pull them together once more. Soft kisses turn into heated kisses that turn into full mouth kisses that turn into Akechi making his way above him on the bed in order to better pine his wrists down on the mattress and bite on his lips, his jaw, his neck.

“What did you just say about my school uniform?” Akira teases.

“That I’m not going to remove that one, too. Yet.”

_Cold on his wrists. And pain; soft, pulsing pain. Far away as the noises from before. Is it correct so say ‘before’? Akira guesses so. The noises came first, then came the pain. Eyelids starts trembling again. Soft tissue itches his neck. He wasn’t dreaming, was he?_

The last night before the last battle against Sae’s shadow. Akira should be asleep, should get some rest before the great day ahead. Akechi should do that, too.

But there’s no Morgana stopping Akira from inviting the boy upstairs after a long coffee chat rehearsing the plan. No Makoto there to remind him of not getting involved and staying away from the boy every time they weren’t in the Metaverse.

Akechi captures his lip the moment they step into the attic. Akira takes the hit and fights back by pushing the other on the bed. He disentangles the knot on his tie and starts unbuttoning the jacket, still kissing him. Akechi works with Akira’s black blazer and white turtleneck, leaves him with his chest bare. He traces a line on his collarbone with his fingers. “I must say, you are indeed really pretty.”

“Took you long enough to say it out loud, huh. Simply stalking me on the subway was easier?”

Akechi’s eyes narrowed. “You figured it out. Figures.”

Akira grinned. “You weren’t so subtle.”

“Who’s the one who kept inviting me to his room? Talks about subtlety.”

Akira ignores him and gets rid of Akechi’s shirt. He lowers his body over him, shivers at the feeling of skin on skin. He lets his mouth wander to his hear, sucks the lobe and bites it gently. A moan escapes from Akechi’s gracious lips and it melts him. Akira turns back to better look him in the eyes. They are of a colder shade of wine red, lit by the moonlight filtering through the window. They are wild, they are hungry. Akira leans down but Akechi stops him by cupping his face with his hands. He squeezes a bit, faking a tenderness that Akira can’t find in his eyes.

Akechi shifts his right thumb to trace the line of Akira’s lips and presses gently.

“My, the leader of the glorious Phantom Thieves, Japan’s biggest enemy, topping me this way. How many of your friends had the same honour, I wonder?”

Akira parts his lips, takes his thumb in his teeth and bites gently. “None, detective.”

Akechi’s eyes narrow. “Should I believe you?”

Akira grabs the hands on his cheeks and places them down on the mattress. He leans down a second time, whispers in Akechi’s ears. “You should. Consider this a side of me no one’s ever seen. Yet.”

One of Akechi’s hand slips free from Akira’s control and goes to his hip, thumb teasing his skin under trousers and briefs. Akira swallows a gasp and maintains eye contact. No backing off on his side.

Akechi chuckles and wets his lips. “Very well, then.”

_Akira’s lips crack as he opens his mouth, even for a bit. He’s in danger. He must come back to his senses. There is… something he has to do. He can’t grasp what it is, but he needs to wake up. If only his body were following his mind. His eyes are still semi-closed and he’s floating. A manly voice is speaking, what is he saying? He needs to land. Needs to wake up. Needs to – _

_Cold. Sudden, wet cold. Cold water. His eyes open but the gaze is still unclear. _

_He looks around. Men in black suites. A locked room. His hands – why is he cuffed to a chair? He tries to wiggle out of them, but pain stills him. The man in front of him kicks him right in the stomach, throwing him off to the floor. His lungs scream for air and stinging ache reverberates into the whole of his abdomen._

_The man presses his shoe on his head, commands him to cooperate. _

_Akira lies on the floor, hands cuffed and mind still numb. But he remembers. _

_Sae’s shadow. The ambush by the police. The escape. He was the decoy._

_And the arrest._

_“You have to thank your teammate for this,” a policeman said to him “you were sold off.” _

_Something inside Akira breaks. Not bone, not flesh, not internal organs. Something that has always been there, since that day back in June when he met some charming detective prince in a fancy tv station. Shattered like the glass Akira broke to make that magnificent jump in Sae’s palace._

_Akechi. It has been Goro Akechi._

**Author's Note:**

> I am. So happy about how this fic turned out. Hands down my favourite of the writober so far.
> 
> Previous work in the collection: Persona 5 - Akira character study - Enchanted  
Next one in the collection will be: Love Live! - NozoEli


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